this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2024
62 points (98.4% liked)
World News
32317 readers
680 users here now
News from around the world!
Rules:
-
Please only post links to actual news sources, no tabloid sites, etc
-
No NSFW content
-
No hate speech, bigotry, propaganda, etc
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Eight months is brutal. Yet that isn't even one leg of a round trip Mars mission, unless nuclear propulsion is used. Still a giant problem we have to figure out. We are not colonizing the solar system on chemical rockets alone.
We don’t just need better propulsion. The human body needs gravity. Not to mention shielding from radiation. Both of those things are doable, but I doubt there’s the political will in Washington to keep astronauts safe. If China planned on sending people to Mars in the future then America would strap a few people into a rocket propelled shoebox and honor the completely broken human when/if they get home.
Maybe they can just tether two ships together and have them rotate around a common CoG like a bucket swinging around on a string. Wouldn't be that expensive. The radiation I'm not sure, maybe they can create a "safe room" on the ship surrounded by their water reserves.
The tether thing is so simple I'm surprised it wasn't in use decades ago. I think I remember them confirming it being a viable option on Gemini when they tested it being tethered to the test vehicle.